Former FDA chief Hahn defends his jump to Flagship Pioneering, the firm behind Moderna

When biotech investor Flagship Pioneering announced that it had hired former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, more than a few eyebrows rose.

“It would not be a good look for our industry if the person who approved the vaccine went to work for an affiliated company,” tweeted Brad Loncar, a respected investor. “That would be a TERRIBLE look for both him and Flagship,” one biotech editor tweeted.

Flagship Pioneering is the firm that spawned Moderna, the biotechnology company that developed one of the Covid-19 vaccines that Hahn’s FDA authorized last fall; Flagship Pioneering founder Noubar Afeyan still chairs Moderna’s board.

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